The surrender of our forces on Bataan on April 9, 1942, and
the subsequent surrender of Corregidor, with the accompanying order for
our forces to surrender throughout the Philippines, brought on the most
ruthless mass treatment of our prisoners of war in Japanese hands. This
treatment was apparently based upon a fixed policy of indifference,
debilitation and humiliation.

On many occasions the treatment of
those captured was a matter of revenge. At Fort Drum for instance, the
officers and men were subjected to 48 hours of "hazing" after their
surrender, during which time they were not allowed to sit down or to
sleep or to have water or food. It is reported that this was due to the
fact that Fort Drum had dropped a 14-inch shell amidst a large group of
Japanese on Bataan, killing a high-ranking Japanese officer whose
brother was still in Manila and who ordered this special treatment of
the Fort Drum contingent. The forces both on Bataan and Corregidor were
subjected to bombardment for hours after their terms of surrender had
been accepted by the Japanese. The "Death March" from Bataan to San
Fernando was another form of punishment on the part of the Japanese.

The
Japanese have tried to counteract our accounts of the crowding and
maltreatment of our POW in their hands by publishing accounts of how
Japanese citizens were crowded and underfed at the time of and just
prior to the outbreak of hostilities, particularly in Java and
Singapore.

The Japanese Military in the Philippine Islands, as
elsewhere in the field, showed little evidence of a sense of
responsibility for the lives and welfare of the prisoners. The
survivors of Bataan were informed that they would be treated as
"captives." After the fall of Corregidor they were raised to the status
of prisoners of war, but their lot showed small signs of improvement.
Camp Commanders and their subordinate officers paid little attention to
the prisoners and left their welfare to uncouth privates and
non-commissioned officers who gave them their orders and made them
salute and bow to all Japanese soldiers above the rank of private,
regardless of whether they (the POW) were generals or privates.
Japanese generals and other high-ranking officers visited the camps but
no apparent improvements were initiated following such visits. However,
POW above the rank of Lt. Colonels were soon relieved from this
treatment by being sent to Formosa where they were better cared for.

Conditions
of the POW in the Philippines has greatly improved particularly since
the arrival of the Red Cross packages and our government's official
protest to the atrocities committed against our POW. This showed that,
contrary to the Japanese policy, we had a real interest in the welfare
of our prisoners in Japan's hands. The trend of the war also is having
a certain effect on their treatment. Apparently, as long as the Army in
the field exercise control of the POW, there can be little hope of much
improvement, unless their policy is changed.

II. RELIEF
TO POW IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

The International Red Cross
has not been permitted to visit POW Camps in the Philippine Islands or
any other POW Camp south of Canton, as they are considered by the
Japanese to be in the zone of battle. The Red Cross which operated in
the Philippines before Pearl Harbor was under the American Red Cross,
and as a result of this, the Japanese, when they took control, refused
to permit it to function. In May 1942, the newly organized Philippine
Red Cross was given the existing Red Cross credits of money and food
stocks, but the Japanese would not let the International Red Cross
recognize it. This has hindered the Philippine organization as it has
no official status and the work done is under the Japanese Red Cross
guidance. Even so, the Filipino Red Cross was refused entry five times
to Cabanatuan when it came with truck loads of supplies for the POWs.
There is other evidence that the work of the Philippine Red
Cross
has been limited because of Japanese supervision.

In the fall of
1942, the first consignment of Red Cross food packages arrived in time
to save the lives of many POWs. In most cases, the Japs withheld rice
and other rations while Red Cross supplies lasted.

From February to July 1944, the YMCA
had permission to send books, athletic equipment, musical instruments,
seeds , gardening and carpentry tools into the Philippine POW Camps.
However, these activities were greatly hampered due to lack of
shipping space, communications, and other obstacles. At the present
time, the Japanese do not permit either the YMCA or the International
Red Cross to be active in the Philippines.

United States Financial Assistance.
The Swiss Minister at Tokyo was authorized by the Department of State
in a telegram dated 19 August 1944, to arrange for financial relief or
assistance for American POW in the Philippine Islands at the rate of 20
pesos (the equivalent of $10.00) monthly for each prisoner. Officers
were to share equally in this relief. Negotiations are now in
progress to fulfill this request on the basis of 9,000 American POW in
the Philippine Islands, as reported by Tokyo.

It was desired
that these sums of money should be expended on a group basis rather
than to individuals, with the advice and cooperation of Camp
committees, leaders or spokesmen. Priority was to be given to the
purchase and distribution of medical and food supplies. Such supplies
were to be distributed in addition to, and not in lieu of, those
regularly supplied by the Japanese. A monthly telegraphic report was
desired, showing the number of Army, Navy, and Marine Corps who
benefited, and the total amount expended.

III. INFRACTIONS
OF THE GENEVA CONVENTION

Japanese Policy

The
outstanding infraction of the Geneva Convention regarding the treatment
of Prisoners of War was the announced policy of the Japanese that they
would treat the soldiers captured in the Philippines Islands as
captives rather than as prisoners of war. They carried this out by
under-feeding them, over-marching them, under-clothing them, beating
them, and executing them at the slightest provocation. The POW were
given practically no food or water during the first week of captivity,
and a minimum of rice, soup, and water rations thereafter. Prisoners
were denied all fruit even though it was everywhere and rotted on the
ground near some of the camps.

The Japanese distributed one each
of certain items in order to be able to say that their POW had been fed
eggs, fruits, and other foods. As a result of Japanese
treatment,
hover, during the first months of imprisonment, our men died at the
rate of 30 to 50 per day. For nearly a year they were not allowed to
write, and no new reading material was allowed into the camps, with the
exception of a few propaganda newspapers proclaiming the Japanese Naval
victories.

During the past two years the Government of the
United States has on numerous occasions brought to the attention of the
Japanese Government, through the Swiss Government, reports of neglect
and mistreatment of American prisoners of war and civilian internees in
Japanese hands. In Secretary of State Hull's protest of 27 Jan 1944, 89
violations were directly attributed to the Japanese.

Domei
reported from Tokyo on February 5, that Sado Iguchi, Spokesman for the
Board of Information, has stated that the information published in this
country and Great Britain concerning Japanese mistreatment and neglect
of prisoners of war is without foundation.

While the question of
the atrocities apparently is being considered by the Japanese as
"belonging to the past," the Department of Stated is continuing to
exert pressure through the Swiss Government to get POW conditions
ameliorated.

Target Areas

According to
Article 7 of the Geneva Convention (Evacuation from Combat Zones),
Prisoners of War should not be kept near, or made to work in, combat
areas.

While the two Main Camps, Cabanatuan and the Davao Penal
Colony are not in target areas, the various work details in the ports
and working on the airfields are. Our government has protested the
Japanese policy of segregating our prisoners near or on military
objectives.

LOCATION OF POW AND
CIVILIAN
CAMPS IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
Click on image to enlarge

IV. POW
FIGURES

Original Number of POW

Total Figures: According to the official
casualty reports, the Japanese captured at least 50,000 of the American
and Filipino fighting forces in the Philippines. Approximately 17,000
were American soldiers, sailors and marines; 12,000 were Filipino
Scouts, and 21,000 members of the Philippine Commonwealth Army.

A high percentage of the POW died due to Japanese treatment, or rather,
lack of proper treatment. During the first half year of captivity
about 5,000, or nearly 30%, of the Americans died, while an estimated
27,000, or 80%, of the Filipinos died.

April 1944 Estimate

Since Sept. 1942, the tendency was to send more and more skilled POW to
work in Japan. Some were sent to Formosa and some to Southeast Asia. By
April 1944, the estimated number of POW in the Philippine Islands had
been reduced to 7,000:

3,500

at Cabanatuan (Military Prison Camp #1)

1,900

at Davao Penal Colony (Military
Prison Camp #2)

400

on Palawan Island

5,800

and the remaining 1,200 at various work camps mostly around Manila.

In July and August 1944, transfers to and from Mindanao were reported.
It appears that in June, most of the able-bodied prisoners were moved
north from Davao Penal Colony, leaving only the sick and feeble there.
Later some 800 were brought to work on the airfields. These were
reported to have been transferred north by the end of August.

In July, some 1200 British and Australians were reported to have come
to Manila from Singapore. In the second week of September our
submarines reported having sunk some Japanese transports
north-northwest of Luzon from which at least 60 to 75 Australians were
rescued.

In September 1944, the number of American POW reported by the Swiss
from Tokyo was 5,700 in Japan, 1,700 dead and 9,000 in the Philippines
-- a total of 16,400. This total approximates the MIS-X total of April
1944, of 7,000 in the Philippines and 10,000 in other Japanese-occupied
territory. The P.M.G. totals in April concurred with the estimate of
approximately 9,000 in the Philippines and 10,000 in Japanese-occupied
territory, a total of some 19,000. This includes the unreported deaths
in the Philippines. Evacuees from the Philippines declare that the
number of POW who died there was nearer 5,000.

Estimated total of POW in Philippine Islands as of Sept. 15, 1944:

Davao Penal Colony

250

still living, too sick to work.

Davao City Area

50

truck drivers and repair men.

Palawan

300

road and airfield workers.

Cabanatuan

4,000

(distribution center).

Manila Area

2,400

work details.

The Japanese have shown little interest in submitting accurate POW
figures. Therefore, the total of 9,000 may be maintained by the
Japanese in order to profit by the $10.00 expendable per POW.

V. CORRESPONDENCE

Five batches of mail, containing a total of 40,320 pieces, have come
through Japanese hands from the Philippine Islands to the United States
during the year Aug 1943 to Aug 1944. Most of these were postcards;
many merely contained vital statistics for insurance purposes.

Over
half of the mail (24,915) came from two camps #1 and 3 at Cabanatuan.
These camps contained about 3,500 POW during that period, but many of
the personnel may have been moved to Japan, and the other POW who
replaced them may have written also, which no doubt helped to swell the
grand total of cards from the Cabanatuan Camps. In the last mail,
letters from the Cabanatuan Camps averaged about one letter per person
for the half year period.

The second largest number of letters
received during the year was from Davao -- 5,700 cards. There were
nearly 2,000 POW at Davao during that period but in the last mail only
10 cards from 8 POW were received. This restriction may have been
caused by disciplinary measures because of the several escapes from
this camp. Another reason may have been the sinking of shipping from
Davao.

During the first year, Apr 1942 to Apr 1943, contrary to
the rules of the Geneva Convention, POW in the Philippine Islands were
not allowed to send any mail out of the camps.

The first mail
received from the POW in the Philippines reached the United States
prior to Aug 1943, and contained 3,675 letters from 21 different camps,
numbered from 1 to 17, plus numbered 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D. Most of
these camps are near Manila.

Camp #6 contained only one civilian
and was not heard from again; neither was Camp #14, containing 6 POW.
Since December 1943, no mail has been received from Camps #11, 13, 14,
15, 16, and 17.

The second consignment of mail, which came in
Sep 1943, was larger, containing nearly 8,000 pieces; 4,460 from
Cabanatuan and 1,851 from Davao, indicating a "letter" from each POW.
The third batch totaled only 746 and might be considered as just an
overflow of the second. The fourth batch, received a month later, was
the largest: 27,405. From Cabanatuan alone came over 13,000 cards, with
3,660 from Davao.

The latest shipment received 27 July 1944,
totaled 5,599 cards and 11 letters from 5,130 American POW in the
Philippine Islands. Nearly all this mail is undated, but letters from
other camps, received at the same time, were dated from September 1943
to March 1944. The mail contained many single card acknowledgments of
packages received and also requests for additional insurance.

Cablegrams
brought some comfort to the POW, for at least 275 acknowledgments were
observed in the mail. This is a small percent considering
there
are about 7,000 American POW in the Philippine Islands, but it is very
likely that many more cablegrams were received but the acknowledgments
were not included in the July mail. Cablegrams can be sent once a year
by the next-of-kin, except in case of an emergency when more than once
can be sent.

The table on the following page breaks down the origin of these letters
as to Camps and personnel.

A
50-word message card is still being used, with one line for the writer
to underscore as to whether his health is excellent, good, fair, or
poor. The camp rules permit POW to write such a card every three
months. However, no definite schedule for delivery of such mail has
been established. There is no limit on the number of letters going to
the Islands but they must not exceed 25 words including the signature
and must be typed or printed in capital letters.

The Red Cross
has three form letters which can be used. The first is the ordinary
postage-free letter. The second in an airmail special called Form No.
11, and the third is a simplified postcard available at local Red Cross
Chapters. In addition to these is the Provost Marshall General's Form
No. 111 which is recommended for more reliable delivery.

TABULATION OF MAIL DATED FROM SEP 1943 THROUGH MAR 1944,
RECEIVED 27
JULY 1944, BY U.S. RESIDENTS FROM AMERICAN POWS IN THE P.I.

U.S.
PERSONNEL
FROM WHOM MAIL
HAS BEEN RECEIVED

HEALTH

Camp

Army
Officers

Army
E.M.

Navy
Officers

Navy
E.M.

Total

Civilian
POW

Total

No. of
Cards
Sent

Sick in
Hospital

Poor

Fair

Good

Excellent

1

572

1489

90

303

2454

85

2539

2645

5

153

1413

968

2

4

3

7

1

8

10

1

5

1

3

42

218

32

130

422

8

430

*436

2

3

56

226

123

4

26

573

3

118

720

28

748

727

106

565

30

5

1

22

23

23

23

7

11

3

7

3

11

1

2

17

3

20

20

11

6

8

5

106

2

10

123

3

126

#126

1

4

20

101

9

2

4

6

7

13

17

1

12

10

1

1

2

2

3

2

10A

9

230

3

113

355

1

356

435

62

234

56

10B

11

229

12

252

2

254

486

1

15

193

43

10C

9

242

2

15

268

1

269

292

13

219

37

10D

6

101

2

25

134

4

138

144

7

33

97

11

7

144

4

39

194

10

204

246

15

88

89

TOTAL

693

3374

139

771

4977

153

5130

5610

7

5

439

2031

1566

*28 of
these were dated, 10 were letters. # Includes 1 letter.

VI. INDIVIDUAL
CAMPS IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

A. North of Manila

1. O'Donnell
-- Terminal of the "Death March":

After the surrender at Bataan on April 9, 1942, Americans and Filipinos
were marched, regardless of their condition, practically without food
or water, to San Fernando, a road distance of approximately 140 miles.
From there they were taken in box cars to Camp O'Donnell in Tarlac
Province, Luzon. The march lasted a week. During this "Death March"
(for the route see
illustration), many were forced to go
barefoot and hatless over the hot rocky roads. They were actively
prevented from getting water, were only fed once, and given little
rest. Those who fell by the wayside, or who were observed trying to
drink water or get food from the natives, were either clubbed, shot or
bayoneted. Most of those who succeeded in getting water from carabao
wallows came down with dysentery. Many got malaria and other diseases.
Along the road they were laughed at, struck, beaten and spit upon by
passing Jap soldiers and officers. Others, thirsty and crazed for want
of food, went insane and were killed by the Japanese. Filipinos,
however, took every opportunity to throw the prisoners food and
cigarettes. Cans of drinking water were left on the highways near the
road toward the end of the march and, if not turned over by the
Japanese, were drunk from by the Americans. The Japanese tortured their
prisoners in other minor ways, such as preparing food near their
halting place and then, on some pretext of non-cooperation, taking it
away and marching them on. All POW, from privates to generals, were
required to salute all Japanese, from privates, up.

The
prisoners were marched to San Fernando in successive groups ranging
from about 500 to 1,500. Each group was only fed once, a saucerful of
rice, some on the third day, others not until the seventh. Groups of
1,500 Americans and Filipinos were forced into the same barbed wire
enclosure built to accommodate the 500 size groups. As most of the
prisoners had diarrhea and dysentery, contracted from the polluted
water they drank along the way, human defecations soon covered the
whole area, if it was not already so covered by the previous groups.
For this reason, and due to the over-crowding, to even sit up in a
comfortable position was hopeless. Sleep was "impossible." The stench
was terrible.

Two days were spent at one of these temporary
camps before marching on to San Fernando. There they were put into box
cars which might have accommodated 25 to 50 persons. Over one hundred
POWs were put into each and the doors locked. There were no sanitary
arrangements. The situation was "indescribable."

At Capiz,
Tarlac Province, the prisoners were unloaded and put into another
temporary open camp in the burning sun (as usual) for several hours
while they were counted. Many were beaten up for no apparent reason.
Then, placed in columns of four, they were marched to O'Donnell Prison
Camp, an old Filipino Army Cadre.

Of the ten thousand Americans
who surrendered on Bataan, many died enroute and the health of the
others was so undermined that they died at the rate of fifty a day, on
the starvation diet given at the unhealthy Camp O’Donnell. Over 2,000
Americans died of disease and undernourishment before the remainder
were moved to Cabanatuan in July 1942. Finding sufficient able-bodied
men to bury the dead was a problem. Often, a high percentage of the
burial detail would be thrown into the common graves because they had
died from overwork. Sometimes exhausted men were buried before they
were actually dead.

2. Cabanatuan
-- Camp No. 1 and Camp No. 3.

Route: The 7,000 Americans from Corregidor
fared better.
However, they were crowded into a small open area for a week prior to
going by boat to Manila, and were made to wade ashore before being
paraded through the streets -- in order to make a more defeated
impression. After a short stay at Old Bilibid prison, they were packed
into freight cars and sent to Cabanatuan. The surviving Americans from
O'Donnell soon joined them there. They brought up the death rate at
Cabanatuan to about 50 a day.

Two camps were formed at
Cabanatuan. No. 1, where most of the officers were located -- about 9
miles from the city, and No. 3, about 6 miles from Cabanatuan. The
camps lacked the proper and necessary sanitary arrangements and the
dead were left lying around. Even after they had been removed, the
nauseating odor from the nearly graveyard and its shallow graves
affected the surviving POW.

Attempts to escape or to use
the black market to get in food were severely punished, usually by
torture and death. Innocent associates of the escapers were penalized.
In one case when a man escaped while on a work detail, five American
POW were selected summarily and shot. The camps were divided into
"shooting squads" of ten men each, upon the escape of anyone or more,
the rest of the squad were to be shot.

Medical supplies offered by the Philippines
Red Cross were refused entry on five different occasions. The hospital
was just a place to die.

Number of POW.
In September 1942, groups were selected to go to Japan. About 5,000
Americans were sent there within a year. One thousand were sent to
Davao. That left about 6,000 in Cabanatuan, of which about 2,000 were
too sick to survive long. In April 1944, due to the death rate,
withdrawals, shipments to Japan and elsewhere, it was estimated that
there were about 3,500 POW at Cabanatuan. At the end of June 1944, a
large group of American and Australian POW arrived in Manila reportedly
from Davao and Singapore. The bulk of these were said to have been
confined to Cabanatuan. This raised the number to about 4,700. That was
reduced to 4,000 when the Australians were shipped to Japan in
September '44.

Food consists of rice, native vegetables
and carabao meat, poorly prepared and in insufficient quantities.
Practically no meat was issued for the first 6 months after the fall of
Bataan.

The diet has not varied much except for the occasional
Red Cross packages brought by the Gripsholm which were distributed to
the POW in Davao from Christmas 1942, to Feb '43, and from Thanksgiving
to Christmas late in 1943. No further arrangements for food shipments
have been approved by the Japanese.

However, late in 1942,
Philippine women obtained permission to open canteens for the POW at
Cabanatuan as well as at Santo Tomas and sold canned products at
reasonable prices. The items sold consisted chiefly of pork and beans,
peanut butter, jellies and jams. In this way, Americans with a little
money could obtain the saccharine missing in Oriental diet. At Davao,
they had an insufficiently stocked canteen operated by the POWs.

Clothing.
Meagre quantities have been provided by the Japanese authorities. Many
of the men at the camp are barefooted and wearing loin cloths only.
Their feet become sore and infected from going barefooted while working
on work details.

Work. All prisoners are forced to
perform labor. Officers and men work from 6:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and
1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on a farm. They must walk two miles to the farm
from the barracks.

Pay. Officers receive pesos 25 per
month ($12.50). They have been receiving this sum since January 1943
only. Miscellaneous reports from letters of enlisted men state that
they are now being paid varying amounts, ranging from 10 sen to 30 sen
per day. This constitutes a daily wage of 3 to 9 American cents.
Financial assistance to POW on the same basis of $10.00 per man per
month has been requested by the State Department.

Recreation.
The men are allowed to use spare time as they please. They have
organized dramatic and entertainment groups but they are usually too
fatigued after the day's work to take part in active sports. A card
from a POW states that he had been acting as Master of Ceremony at the
camp show twice a week. POW mail refers to a library and books at
Cabanatuan which has made it possible for POW to study Spanish and
mathematics. One officer reported he had a small garden.

3. Bayambang
is located on Luzon Island about 20 miles south of Lingayan Gulf and
about 40 miles NE of Cabanatuan. POW are reported to be working here
either on agricultural projects of airfields or both. No further
details as to this camp have been reported.

MAP OF MANILA, LOCATING POW
CAMPS
Click on image to enlarge

B. Manila
Area.

POW have been imprisoned in this area in at least seven different
locations.

1. Old Bilibid Prison
was first used as a transfer center and for the last year or so, now as
a POW hospital. POW cases from the various camps and work details are
sent here.

OLD BILIBID PRISON
Click on image to enlarge

2. Fort Santiago, with
its old prison cells, is said to be used as a punishment and torture
prison.

FORT SANTIAGO
Click on image to enlarge

3. Several hundred POW are housed in the warehouse of the Commercial
Pacific Building, between Piers 5 and 7.

4. The Manila Park Terminal Building
is at the end of Pier 7 and right near the Commercial Pacific Building.
The POW from here may have been moved to the Commercial Pacific
Building.

5. Engineer Island -- at
the mouth of the Pasig River; was used to house POW working on the
docks.

6. Pasay Elementary School
-- This camp on Park Avenue, about 300 yards east of the point where F.
B. Harrison (Street) passes the entrance of the Manila Polo Club Field
in Pasay, just south of Manila. The number of prisoners was between 150
and 400. They worked at Nichols and Neilson Airfields and were marched
there every day at 0745 and returned at 1715. They received poor
treatment, and were under-fed; lacked clothes; and were poorly paid.
This camp may have been moved nearer work elsewhere.

8. New Bilibid Prison at Mintinlupa, Laguna de Bay
Rizal. Quantity held here unknown, possibly Filipinos. ON 7
April, 500 reportedly shipped from this camp to Davao, and 60 escaped
25 July 1944.

NEW BILIBID
PRISON, MUNTINLUPA
Click on image to enlarge

9. Nasugby in Batangas is indicated because it was
there that a group of POW were captured at Fort Drum and made to work
on the docks without hats, food or water, for two days in the broiling
sun. At the end of that time, some of the men were drinking salt water
and were semi-delirious. They were then marched by the Japanese through
the town. During and following the "Victory Parade" many of the POW
collapsed. To show the contrast, they were followed by well fed and
rested Jap troops. After the parade our men were fed for the first
time, and sparingly thereafter. So great was their hunger that death
seemed preferable to two of these prisoners who thereupon made their
escape. One of them reached Australia in safety.

10. Limay, Bataan. Following the fall of Bataan and
Corregidor, a group of about 200 American soldiers convalescing from
wounds and disease were taken from a hospital to collect scrap metal
for about two hours a day on Bataan. They were camped near the town of
Limay to which they were permitted to go under Japanese guard. The
American officer who was put in charge of this group under the orders
and surveillance of the Japanese became very friendly with the Jap Camp
Commander who treated him very well. They took over a one-room house in
which to live. There were two mattresses in it, a "Beauty Rest" and a
thin one. The Japanese "pulled his rank" to get the thin one, much to
the pleasure of the American. This preference indicates that the
Japanese are not particularly conscious of inflicting hardships on POW
by supplying them with the thin mattresses customary in Japan.

Because of his friendship with the Jap Camp Commander, the American was
permitted to visit his wife, interned at Los Baños, under escort. He is
said to have been allowed to stay in the camp for three or four hours
on his first trip, and later on was able to stay over-night. He was
permitted to visit his wife in the camp about ten times over a period
of six months. Such kindnesses on the part of the Japanese are rare,
but have occurred elsewhere.

On one occasion the American was permitted to go hunting, with the
Japanese, who furnished him with a shot gun. The Japanese carried
sub-machine guns to protect themselves from the guerrillas.

D. Civilian
Internment Camps

There
are at present three civilian internment camps in the Philippine
Islands, all located on Luzon. It is not usual to include internment
centers with prisoner of war camp reports, but in this instance, it is
pertinent to do so, not only as targets to avoid, but because they
contain Army and Navy nurses.

The
buildings and grounds of this institution contain some 4,500 internees
including 75 Army nurses. For buildings and camp layout, see photograph.
The last 500 internees were recently added when all American members of
religious organizations, nuns and priests were brought there in an
effort to eliminate the possibility of cooperation between the
Americans and the Filipinos. This still further crowded the limited
capacities. The inmates had Filipinos build shacks for them which were
parked around the grounds as indicated on the photograph. There are
about 600 of these. They afford a small degree of privacy to the
occupants. Men and older children live in them. Women must be inside
the main buildings by 1930.

Parcels are delivered for the
internees in the compound near the main gate. After the Filipinos have
left and the parcels have been inspected, the internees are allowed in
to get them. Thus contact between Filipinos and whites in avoided as
much as possible. This is the reason for the Swawlai matting on the
iron fence. There are, however, many "incidental" holes in this
coverage.

On the whole, Japanese treatment of internees has been reasonable, in
contrast to the treatment of POW.

SANTO
TOMAS
(74 Army Nurses)
Click on image to enlarge

2. Los Baños
Camp

Los Baños Camp, some 65 miles southeast of Manila, is about 5 miles
from Laguna de Bay (see
map).
It was formerly the Agricultural School of the University of the
Philippines. In May 1942, in order to make more room at Santo Tomas,
800 of the ablest-bodied men were moved to Los Baños. Eleven Navy
nurses voluntarily went there to help run the hospital. At the time of
the American landings on Guadalcanal (August 1942) some of the younger
men escaped and joined the guerrillas. More were going to do so but one
of the escapees advised them not to, because of the difficulties of
survival. The Japanese reaction to this was to put the camp on a
stricter military basis and to put up an outer 8-strand barbed wire
fence, to keep out the guerrillas. The location of the camp near the
foothills of a mountain makes it healthy, but the reported addition of
300 internees from Davao strains the facilities of the camp and makes
it overcrowded.

Certain internees from Los Baños camp have been moved to Fort
McKinley
where a major ammunition dump for central Luzon is maintained. The
State Department has protested such actions as contrary to Article 9 of
the Geneva Convention, and has requested removal of the internees.

LOS
BAÑOS
(12 Navy Nurses)
Click on image to enlarge

3. Camp Holmes, in the
Bontoc Mountains, off the NE end of Trinidad Valley, seven miles north
of Baguio (see map)
contains some 500 civilians. Its location is one of the healthiest in
the Philippines Islands.

Ten
non-commissioned officers and enlisted men were brought here on May 13,
1942, from Bataan to act as truck drivers. Often they had to drive
under fire into guerrilla-held territory. One of them escaped on April
1943, and seven more successfully escaped on 4 July '43, leaving two of
their number behind. As their services were needed, those remaining
were not severely punished; a stricter watch was kept over them, and
dieting restrictions were temporarily increased.

1. Duties:
Their principal duties were driving trucks, hauling ammunition and
supplies, and making repairs. They drove International G.I. Chevrolets,
1935 Fords, and Chevrolets converted into ammunition trucks. Also one
21/2 ton "Jimmy."

2. Living Conditions: They lived in
Japanese soldiers' quarters and had much the same food. This being
insufficient they had to supplement it with food bought from the
Filipinos, which usually had to be smuggled in to them. Their usual
food was fish and rice, supplemented by vegetables and whatever other
food supplies the Japs had.

3. Pay: The maximum wages paid were 25 pesos
($12.50), which was reduced to 3 pesos per month ($1.50).

4. Treatment:
At first not too bad. With successive new commanders, treatment became
worse -- less food, greater restrictions, and harsher punishments for
misunderstanding, etc.

After the first of the eight escaped in April 1943, all freedom was
taken away.

(a)
They were told they would be treated as POW -- their names and general
locations were sent to parents in the United States (one year after
capture!).

(b) They were informed that they had been treated
very kindly, and if the treatment seemed harsh, it was the same as that
of Japanese soldiers who are used to being slapped and kicked around.
Besides which, the Japanese said they felt they were giving our people
the same as had been given to the Jap POWs abroad. The men were
required to raise their left hand and swear that they would not attempt
to escape under any circumstances. That was early in June 1943. In
July, conditions for them became intolerable and they escaped. Two
American prisoners were left behind. Local circumstances prevented the
remaining two from leaving at time. No word as to any serious reprisals
has been heard.

In
September 1942, approximately 400 American POW, mostly marines, were
transferred from Cabanatuan to Puerto Princesa on Palawan. They were
lodged in the old Philippine Constabular Barracks, surrounded by a
double row of barbed wire. Earlier reports indicated that they might
have been kept at the Iwahig Penal Colony, inland across the Bay from
Puerta Princesa, but this has been refuted by returned personnel. Due
to transfers north to Manila, and to deaths, only about 300 POW remain
in Puerta Princesa.

2. Type of Work

The POW have
been working on an airfield (enclosed by barbed wire) in the vicinity,
which no outsiders are allowed to approach -- not even Filipinos. The
airfield, Canigaran, is reported to be of rock construction, and
capable of functioning in the raining season. The POW here are being
used to improve the roads between Puerta Princesa and Tapul.

3. Escapes

Shortly
after arriving at Puerta Princesa, eight or ten of the POW escaped,
while on a work detail, by walking into the nearby forest. In February
1943, two groups of two men each broke out from their barracks. The
first group was recaptured, tortured, and finally killed by the
Japanese. The second two were successful.

4. Food

At
the time of their escape, the POW were being fed rice with a few
vegetables, but all in insufficient quantities. No bedding was issued
and the POW slept on dirt or cement floors. A very few had blankets of
their own. Morale was low and the men did not care what happened.

G. Davao
Area

1. Davao Penal Colony

At
Davao Penal Colony, conditions were better than at Cabanatuan. There
was a mess hall; food was more plentiful and varied; and the hospital
had more medicines. It was not long, however, before conditions became
worse. The arrival of some Red Cross food packages in Feb ‘43 saved
many lives. A party of ten had sufficient strength to escape into the
almost impenetrable jungle in April 1943. At that time, the guards were
doubled from 100 to 200 and no immediate punishments were given as an
attack by the guerrillas to free the rest was expected. In October, two
more men escaped and twelve were men were reported confined for fifteen
days as a result. In April 1944, a report was received that 25 POW had
been executed in retaliation for those escapes. More restrictions were
placed on the prisoners who were forbidden to take canteens to work
with them and could not wear long trousers, shoes, or jackets.
Apparently, this was to prevent the men from concealing any supplies in
their clothing and also to make them more exposed to the perils of the
jungle if they tried to escape in shorts only.

Men and officers
were assigned various work details such as: lumbering, planting rice,
plowing, collecting fruits, coffee and other crops; as well as making
repairs and building defense works. Their diet consisted of rice for
breakfast with reduced amounts of comotes for lunch and supper. Of the
thousand that arrived there from Luzon, about half of them were too
sick to work. The POW were joined at Davao by another 1,000 who had
been kept elsewhere in Mindanao. They were in better condition but were
soon reduced by illness, debilitation and lack of proper diet. Although
there was plenty of quinine in camp, 99 percent of the prisoners had
malaria. Prisoners are required to work for a half day while having
attacks of malaria; after recovery on the third day, they must report
for full duty. Of the 1,961 prisoners in the Colony in April 1944, 50
were completely bedridden and 500 unable to work. Upon the protest of
two colonels to Major Maida, the Japanese Camp Commander, regarding
violations of the Geneva Convention, Maida replied, "We treat you like
we wish."

On 6 June, the 1,200 POW confined in the Davao Penal
Colony were bound, blindfolded and placed on board a ship in Davao
harbor where it remained until it sailed 12 June. The ship was so
crowded that only one in three could lie down.

DAVAO PENAL COLONY
MINDANAO
Click on image to enlarge

2. Work details area Davao City

After
the POW first arrived at Davao, a certain number were separated from
those bound for the Penal Colony and were used to drive trucks around
Manila. Later some 800 who had been shipped from Manila were reported
working on Licanan (Likanan) field while 50 worked on the Matina
airfield. These work details were later reported shipped north after
the completion of the fields.

Apparently most of the able-bodied POWs have been shipped north from
the Davao area.